halfshaved

The first sentence of this story bothers me. A nineteen year old girl? Girl? If that had been a 19 year old male who had caused a traffic accident, he'd be called a man in the press. That a young person has died in a traffic accident is, of course, a very sad thing. But let's be fair. When a male 18 or older is in the paper -- or in the legal system -- for any mishap or infraction, he is called a man, not a boy. This woman was 19 years old and the mother of a 2 year old (as we read in today's obit). By this account, she caused the accident, killing herself and hospitalizing another. I think it is poor journalism to mollify the circumstances by characterizing her as a "girl." May the woman rest in peace.